Spring assembly for upholstery



Oct. 25, 1938. F A. NACHMAN, JR

I SPRING ASSEMBLY FOR UPHOLSTERY Filed May 9, 1-936 Patented Oct. 25, 1938 UNITED S 2,134,371; v H v SPRING ASSEMBLY FOR UPHOLSTERY Fred A. Nachman, Jr., Chicago, IlI.',[assignorjtd Nachman Spring-Filled Corporation, .Chicago,

111., a corporation of Illinois I Application May 9, 1936, Serial No.178,750-

s'olaims. (01. 5-353) Theinvention relates to the type of spring assemblies for upholstery, wherein each of the component springs is maintainedout of contact. with the next adjacent spring or springs by interposing fabric walls between contiguous springs and wherein said fabric walls cooperate with top and bottom walls, to which they are secured, to provide rows of cells, each of which may besaid to be individual as to eachspring.

.Spring assemblies of the type referredtoare illustrated, respectively, in Letters Patent to.:L. A. Suekoft No. 1,411,227 and in the SuekoffPatent No. 1,793,724, the presentinvention being-applicable to both of said types of spring assemblies and'practically all other fabric encased spring assemblies known to the art.

The object of the present invention is to provide means which will act to prevent thecomponent springs of a springassembly of'the types mentioned from crowding together and: becoming overlapped under the influence of lateral pressure exerted against the ends of thepspring assembly as in crowding the same into a cushion cover, or the like, by means of a conventional mattress stufiing machine.

A further object of the invention is to proe vide means for the purpose-set forth which are flat and very resilient and will overlap the terminal coils of contiguous rows of springsof an assembly for affording additional support for the padding disposed between the cushion cover and the top and bottom surfaces of the assembly.

A suitable embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing. wherein Fig. l is a perspective view of. a fabric en'- cased spring assembly equipped with devices made in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the same showing the device of the present invention secured in place by means of stitching.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the device of my invention secured in place by means of hog-nose rings or equivalent devices.

In the instance illustrated, the spring assembly I is substantially of the type illustrated in the L. A. Suekoff Patent No. 1,411,227, wherein a casing comprising top, bottom and peripheral walls, is equipped with partition walls extending laterally and longitudinally of the casing and which are secured to said top and bottom walls by means of stitch chains 2 and 3, respectively. The casing is thus equipped with individual cells into which the springs 4 are introduced as particularly illustrated and described in said letters Patent No. 1,411,227.

In' accordancelwith the present invention, I- mount upon either or both the top' and bottom walls.=ofr the fabric casing. or casings (such as areillustrated in'Letters. PatentNo. 1,793,724) the strips 5:0f wire. benttozi'g-zag form, so that its CODVOhltiOIlSill. in a single plane, said strips 5=beingcomposedof a relatively small gauge and very" resilient wire.

Preferably, the convolutions of the strips" 5: arev variedin' widthat different pointswin the lengths of said strips so that said strips become wider: along alternate portionsiof-their lengths than at. other. portions thereof; Thepurpose of ferent; portions of their lengths is to causesaid. wider portions to overlap: and .be. supported upon the terminal coils of contiguous. springs of: the; assembly, thus to avoid. havingthe: said springs turn on. their own' longitudinal axes and: becomenoticeableto the occupant of a-seat cush-- ion containing the spring assembly; The said" wider: portions of the strips 5 serveralso to afford afirm support for padding and relieve the fabric top walls of, ,the. casings of some of the stress due to theirasupport of said padding and load upon the latter.

The lengthof each strip 515' substantially: equal to the length'of a row of-springs14 of the: assembly; less one 'ofthe springs of said row. Thus, in the'yinstance illustrated, the springs: 41 are arranged inlparallel rows' and each row contains: sixof said' springs.disposed-practical ly side by side. In theinstance illustrated,- therefore, the length of each strip 5 will be substan--- tially equal to five times the diameter-of one of the-componentsprings of theassembly and will overlap the: terminal springs of the two: contiguous rows at the points at which the springs of said rows are most closely contiguous to-each other. Between their terminals said strips 5 will overlap the remaining springs of said two rows thereof.

Preferably, only one of said strips 5 is used for each two rows of springs of the assembly. In the instance illustrated, there are six rows of springs 4 and, therefore, three of said strips 5 the increased widths...of:the.strips 5'alongdifare shown to be mounted upon the assembly. 7

5 by means of stitching I which engages one of the strips 5 at a point substantially midway between its side edges and at a point where a lateral portion of the strip 5 overlaps or rests upon the most closely contiguous opposed portions of a pair of springs, as at the point 8 where the stitch cord is knotted to said strip 5 and the portions of the springs next adjacent thereto. From said point 8 the stitching is passed or looped consecutively about the succeeding pairs of springs and the portions of the strip lying nearest adjacent thereto, as indicated at the several points 9, said cord beingthen passed over to the next succeeding strip 5 and attached similarly to the succeeding points 9 in the opposite direction from the stitching of the first-mentioned strip, and thence across to the last of said strips 5, the other end of said cord being knotted at the point I0. 7

As illustrated in Fig. 3, hog nose rings ll may be used in place of the stitching at the points 8, 9 and I0, respectively. 7

It will be obvious, of course, that under the influence of load on the seat cushion equipped with the spring assembly of this invention, the strips 5 will flex readily and because of the fact that said strips are capable of being elongated and contracted to some extent, they afford a very efiicient means for accomplishing the purpose for which they are intended, as hereinbe'fore set forth.

While I have illustrated the preferred form of the strips 5 in the accompanying drawing, it

will be obvious, of course, that the exact form of said strips may be changed and varied without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a spring assembly consisting of fabric encased upholstery springs wherein the component springs are initially and normally maintained in predetermined relative positions by the walls of said casing, a supplementary means for maintaining said springs in said predetermined relative positions comprising a series of resilient wires bent to fiat substantially zig-zag form and presenting relatively thin, fiat and flexiblestay formations disposed upon the fabric casing material covering the tops of said springs, said stay formations being spaced from and in substantially parallel relation to each other-and each thereof positioned to overlap the springs of two contiguous rows thereof said stay formations equipped with terminal ring formations, and

, stitching extending through and engaged at one end with a ring formation of one of said stay formations and with casing fabric and confined springs at points in the latter contiguous to said ring formation successively to points therein overlying points in the terminals of pairs of confined springs, around the latter and said stay formation, thence to the other terminal ring formation, through and about the latter and terminals of a pair of springs contiguous to said last-named ring formation, thence across the space between said last-named ring formation of one stay formation to the nearest adjacent ring formation of the next adjacent stay formation and thence successively attaching said second stay formation to said fabric and confined springs as in the first-named stay formation, said stitching being continued as above set forth to terminate in the last in line of the ring formations of the last stay formation of the series,

2. In a spring assembly consisting of fabric encased upholstery springs wherein the component springs are initially and normally maintained in predetermined relative positions by the walls of said casing, a supplementary means for maintaining said springs in said predetermined. relative positions comprising a series of resilient wires bent to fiat substantially zig-zag form and presenting relatively thinfiat and flexible stay formations disposed upon the fabric casing material covering the tops of said springs, said stay formations beingspaced from and in substantially parallel relation to each other and each thereof positioned to overlap the springs of two contiguous rows thereof, said stay formations equipped. with terminal ring formations, and stitching extending longitudinally and transversely of and engaged with the ring formations of said several stay formations and with points between the ends thereof and with casing fabric and contiguous points in two springs at each point of attachment of said stitching with said stay formations.

3. In a spring assembly composed of a plurality of parallel rows of upholstery springs disposed side by side wherein each spring is disposed and confined in a fabric cell, a plurality of resilient fiat members each composed of wire bent to zig-zag form and varying in width at different points in their lengths, disposed over the meeting terminal coil portions of the springs of contiguous rows and in overlapping relation to said springs and in substantially parallel relation) to each other, and fasteningmeans engaging said wires at their ends and at points between their ends and each thereof extending through the fabric casing and around the coils of two of the springs of the assembly at the meeting points of said coils.

FRED A. NACHMAN, JR, 

